Finding Hyuuga
by Persephone-Sings
Summary: Hinata has never been as good as her father wants her to be. Kiba and Shino have had just about enough.
1. Part One

Title: Finding Hyuuga

Author: Persephone-sings

Date: 12/1/04

Author's note: I can't decide if I want to take this story further or leave it as a one shot fic. Let me know what you guys think about continuing it, eh?

**Finding Hyuuga**

"You are no Hyuuga, Hinata!"

Hinata flinched as the words echoed in the empty room. Her father glared at her from his position above her. Her nails dug into her palms to stop her habitual fidgeting; he always hated that she couldn't sit still very well. She felt the hard wood beneath her knees from where she was kneeling on the floor and the chill in the air from the open windows.

"How your mother could have given birth to a weakling such as you is beyond even my eyes' ability to see."

At the mention of her mother, Hinata's eyes filled with tears and she had to stifle a sob by biting sharply on the inside of her cheek. The tang of blood filled her mouth but the throbbing pain dried her tears before they could fall.

"How many years did it take you to become a Jounin? What the hell were you doing in between the exams? Picking flowers? Hanabi has been ANBU for two years! Why the Gods couldn't make her my heir, we shall never know."

Jounin . . . the word should have filled Hinata with pride, but that it had taken her five years since becoming a Chuunin to gain the title smashed her happiness. She could never be good enough for him. Ever. Even right before her first mission as a Jounin, he could not give her a word of encouragement. It was always disdain, anger, and cold hatred.

The fact that her team waited for her outside the door made her cheeks burn with shame and mortification. Once again, they would hear of her failures.

"I cannot bear the sight of you any longer! If the Gods shine down on us, you will not return from this mission and Hanabi can take her rightful place as our heir."

The breath whooshed out of her chest as his words faded in the cold room. _You will not return from this mission . . ._ he wanted her dead?

She couldn't take it anymore, couldn't stand the abuse a second longer. Without a word to him, Hinata pushed herself to her feet and forced herself to exit the room slowly, as befitted a lady and the heir to the Hyuuga clan. _Hanabi can take her rightful place as our heir._

One of the men stationed at the door slid it open for her and she nodded her thanks through blinding tears. She fumbled around the corner, where her teammates were waiting but stopped before they noticed her. She quickly scrubbed the tears from her cheeks, not wanting to make them nervous about her abilities for their first mission as jounin.

"Hinata?" Kurenai's voice was soft with worry and Hinata knew they had probably heard every word that had been said and it made her stomach clench to know they now knew what her father thought of her. Shino was calmly leaning against the wall next to Kurenai while Kiba crouched at their feet stroking Akamaru. The knot in her stomach eased as she saw them look up with concern. These were her teammates, her friends. They had always supported her and it wouldn't matter what her father said.

She pasted a smile on her face, "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, you guys. I hope this isn't going to put us behind in leaving. I just need to pack a few-" a warm hand on her upper arm stopped her jerky movements towards the stairs.

"Hinata," She hadn't noticed him rise from his crouch and Kiba's eyes were dark and angry. Akamaru sent a low growl towards the room where her father stood. "One word from you is all I need to go after him, I swear it."

She looked at him, speechless in the face of all that controlled fury. Looking to Shino for his advice on how to react, she was surprised to see his alert posture and the bugs crawling across the hands resting at his sides. He nodded in support of Kiba's statement and her eyes widened. .

"You guys, I don't understand, why would you fight my father?"

Kurenai sighed sadly, "Hinata, every time we come here all we see and hear is you being berated and insulted by your father. Kiba always wants to fight him and Shino is usually ready, but you've never looked this hurt before. I think they're ready to put a stop to it."

Hinata looked at her two closest friends, seeing their defensive postures in a new light. They were angry for her? They wanted to fight for her? Their images grew blurry as fresh tears dripped down her cheeks and Shino blinked in shock when he realized they were making her cry.

He looked to Kiba, who shrugged and patted her arm, which only made her cry harder. Baffled, they both turned to Kurenai who smiled and said, "I don't think she's used to people wanting to fight for her as much as you two do. I suggest you do something to make her stop though, we do have a mission." And with that, she trotted down the hall and went out into the yard to wait.

Shino, not knowing how to deal with a crying female, nodded to Kiba and with an awkward rub to Hinata's shoulder, he made his escape.

"Oi! Shino! What am I supposed to do?" He looked at Hinata, who was still crying into her hands and down at Akamaru, who barked encouragingly and nudged Hinata's foot.

And so, not knowing what else to do, and having seen his dad to this to his mom, Kiba pulled the unresisting young woman into his arms and decided to just let her have it out.

Hinata didn't realize she had moved until she felt Kiba's hand stroking her hair as she cried into his shoulder. Then she felt his other hand slide around her waist as he slid down to sit against the wall. Being held for the first time in a very long time, Hinata felt his warm embrace soothe her as nothing else could have.

Her tears easing off, she stayed relaxed against him, feeling his chest rise and fall against her cheek. Finally, feeling better after an encounter with her father than ever before, she pulled back and smiled brightly up at him.

Kiba stared at her, baffled at how quickly she could change from one mood to another. Then he shrugged mentally, chalked it up to his mental tally of things he didn't understand about women, and helped her stand.

He looked at her, taking in the tear stains and the reddened eyes, "I'm serious, you know that, right Hinata?"

"You mean about my father?" she grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door to meet up with their team.

"Yeah, him. If he makes you cry again, he won't just be dealing with you anymore, got it?" he nudged her when she just nodded in agreement. "I mean it, Hinata. We're a team, you and me and Shino. Your father has no right to say those things about you, especially when they aren't true!"

Hinata stopped dead in the middle of the entrance and looked up at him, "You think they aren't true? The things he says?"

Kiba's eyebrows drew down in a frown, "Of course they aren't true! Look at how hard you try and how much better you've gotten in the last seven years! You, Hyuuga Hinata, are a Jounin of Konoha Village. Don't ever forget that."

She laughed and whirled around in the sunshine, her arms thrown out wide and a half-grown pup barking excitedly at her feet. Kiba watched her, noticing if not for the first time, than for the first time finally realizing how truly beautiful she was. She caught his arm in an exuberant half embrace and dragged him along with her to the entrance of the village.

"Come on, Kiba! I feel like I can take on the world!"

"Oi, Hinata! Stop tugging on me, I can walk on my own, you know!"

Owari?


	2. Part Two

Finding Hyuuga Part Two

Author's note: Okay, I said this was going to be a oneshot. . . but let's pretend I never really said that and instead call it a three-shot!

01/02/04

Part Two

"Do you love her?" _Please say you don't . . . please say you don't. _

Kiba and Naruto were leaning forward against the fence surrounding the training field, watching as their two teams sparred. They looked on, amused, as Sakura ran screaming from Shino's chakra-hungry bugs.

Naruto flicked his gaze at his friend next to him, and then returned to watching Hinata dodge most of Sasuke's attacks. She was getting better. He knew who Kiba referred to, the dark-haired ninja had never been more transparent and he had to suppress a grin.

"Love who?"

Her name on the tip of his tongue, Kiba's courage flickered and died and he heaved a despairing sigh.

"Sakura." _Not Sakura, you idiot, Naruto! If you touch Hinata . . . _

Naruto rubbed at the back of his head thoughtfully, knowing with glee that Kiba was practically shredding his nails waiting for his answer.

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "Nah, don't think so."

Kiba tensed, ready to tackle him if he so much as mentioned Hinata as a love-interest. Knowing he was being more than slightly irrational made little difference to Kiba. Illogical or not, not long after Hinata had cried in his arms that awful day at the Hyuuga main house, Kiba had found himself falling for her, and falling hard. Admitting it to himself was surprisingly easy, but how to confess to her was beyond difficult.

Quickly tiring of his game, because Naruto hadn't realized how deep Kiba's feelings for Hinata ran, he propped his chin on his hand resting against the fence post. He sighed softly and said, "Kiba, if you want to know what my feelings for Hinata are, you're gonna have to come straight out. I'm no good at hidden, in-depth conversations like that. The only reason I even have a clue you're interested in her is because you've hardly taken your eyes off of her for the past four months. But I'm not handing this to you on a silver platter. You want her, you're gonna have to work for her."

Knowing he was right, knowing Hinata deserved someone who would fight for her, Kiba bolstered up his confidence.

"Are you in love with Hinata, Naruto?"

"I'm not sure."

Kiba's jaw fought to hit the floor. Hadn't Naruto just implied he didn't have feelings for her? "What the _hell_ does that mean? How can you not know? What kind of answer is that! If this is just some new game to mess with my head, dammit, I'll take you out and drill you into next Sunday!"

Naruto grimaced at the threat and shook his head, "It's the only answer I have! I don't come from a family, Kiba, so I have no idea what love really feels like. I know I want her to be happy. I know I want her to become the person she wants to be. I know I want to make her smile because all I ever see her do is cry or frown or look so utterly sad that it breaks your heart! I like to be around her and I think she's sweet. She's smart and has a sense of humor that can knock your socks off when you least expect it and is struggling to find her place in the world."

He looked at Kiba and held out his hands beseechingly. "Is that love, Kiba? Is it?"

Kiba sat down heavily on the grass and looked from Naruto's earnest face to Hinata's moving body as she dodged one of Sasuke's fire attacks.

Naruto crouched in front of him. "Is that love, Kiba?" he asked again.

Gnawing on his lip, Kiba wanted to pull his hair out. Who knew life at seventeen could be so difficult?

"There are different kinds of love, Naruto. I mean, I feel everything you've said for Hinata. But I feel other stuff, too." Seeing his friend's confused face, he forged on. "Like, when I see Hinata after a mission, even if it was a short one, all I want to do is sweep her up in my arms and never let go. When she smiles, I get this funny feeling in the pit of my stomach and when she laughs, it's like the breath gets knocked out of me and I can't breathe because she's so beautiful." Caught up in his thoughts, he didn't notice when Naruto's attention flickered to a slender, dark-haired girl approaching them.

Kiba continued, oblivious to Hinata's approach, struggling to find a voice for his feelings. "When she says my name, Naruto, it's like the world narrows to just me and her and she's waiting for me, just for me, and she only wants to see me, just like I only want to see her."

Hinata stopped just on the other side of the fence, sweaty from her rough battles against the village's prodigy and dirty from rolling across the ground. Her heart in her eyes, she watched Kiba as he spoke the most beautiful things she had ever heard.

"Hinata is like water and air for me, Naruto. She's _necessary_ for me to live. When she's not around, everything takes on a tinge of gray and all I can think is how I want to be with her. And when she cries," Kiba's hand rose to press against his heart, as if it pained him even now. "When she cries, it's like my heart shatters and I want to take on the world to bring her smile back and I feel like I can do it, because she clings to me and presses her face to my chest and I know she trusts me and . . .and . . . I think that's the difference between your love and my love, Naruto." Thoughtfully, he stood and gave Naruto a hand up.

Warily eyeing the grin on his friend's face, he heard a soft sniffle and whirled around to face the girl behind him.

"Hinata! H-how long have you been there?"

Hinata, tears trickling down her face, rubbed futilely at them and let out a watery chuckle. She had always had the worst timing ever. To be blubbering and sweaty and dirty during the greatest love confession of all time was something only she could do.

She climbed over the fence and came to stand in front of Kiba. Making one last pass at the tears staining her cheeks, she smiled at him. "Long enough. Oh Kiba, that was the most incredible thing I've ever heard. You . . .you truly feel that way?"

A blush tinging his cheeks, he couldn't look away from her glowing face. He jerked a shoulder distractedly, "Every damn day."

And then she was in his arms, _in his arms_, and the world tilted, then stilled, then righted itself and he pressed his cheek against her sun-warmed hair.

"Me, too, Kiba, me too." She whispered against his neck and he felt it more than heard her say it. Wanting to be closer, he pulled away from her slightly and covered her sweet mouth with his. Lifting her up to sit on the top rung of the fence, Kiba wrapped his arms around her and groaned when he felt one of her legs move between his. _Good, so good. Hinata . . . my love. _

Distracted and rightly so, neither one heard the two men walk away from their little corner of heaven.

"Oi, Naruto, what did you say back there?" Sasuke glanced back at the two ninjas entwined around each other, baffled. How the hell had he missed all of that?

Shrugging, Naruto threw a grin at his long-time friend. "Hell if I know, I was so nervous he was going to jump me and castrate me that I wasn't even listening to what I was saying half the time. Wish I had, though. Whatever it was must have been really good and I can't believe I can't remember it!" Comical despair etched his features and he buried his hands in his hair. Throwing his head back, he wailed, "Sakura-chan! Why couldn't you have come over there like Hinata did! Damn it all to hell!"

Laughing, Sasuke whacked Naruto on the back of the head and kept walking back to his home.

Unbeknownst to all of them, a man with an unwavering glare watched Hinata and Kiba from behind dark shadows.

_This must end, immediately. _

Angrily, the man whirled around and stalked back to his home. His long dark hair swished behind him and his white eyes swirled with ire.

Part three(final part)to go up before the end of the week


	3. Part Three

Finding Hyuuga Part Three

01/07/05

Author's note: Here it is, the last part. Happy reading!

**Part Three**

Hinata was happy.

Deliriously happy.

Happy like she had never been before.

It was a dream she had never expected to attain, to live, or to feel.

But Hinata, like any good ninja, was also a realist. And realists, while enjoying dreams while they lasted, planned for the inevitable to happen.

So Hinata knew her dream was precious and wonderful and everything she could ever hope for.

But Hinata also knew that everyone woke up from dreams. Even if she wrapped herself around Kiba, tied herself to him, sank as much of her soul inside his heart as possible, this dream perfection would end.

No matter what she did, Hinata would wake to find that no dream could ever come without a catch.

She only wondered what it could be.

"Oi, Hinata, why so gloomy?"

Kiba's warm voice jarred Hinata from her gloomy thoughts and she smiled up at him from her seat at the small café table.

Pressing a warm, too-brief kiss to her lips, he slid into the chair across from her and grabbed a fry off her plate.

She loved it.

She loved that he kissed her in public, loved that he felt comfortable enough to eat one of her fries, and loved that his hand comfortably covered hers where it rested on the glass-top table.

"Thinking dark thoughts again?"

She sent him a small shrug and a self-deprecating grin, "I can't seem to help it lately. Everywhere I go, I feel eyes watching me, drilling a hole through my back. It's like someone's waiting for me to slip up doing something I don't even know I'm doing!"

Kiba frowned, eyes flicking to the many hidden corners and streets and windows surrounding the busy market place.

"I know what you mean. I can't shake the feeling, either. I don't understand it, but I get jittery, like I have an itch I can't scratch and it won't ever go away."

She sighed and turned the hand under his over so that her fingers could tangle pleasantly with his.

"Maybe we're being ridiculous." Determined to forget about it and not let it ruin their luncheon, Hinata focused on the young man across from her. "So, I hear Akamaru found himself a love interest?"

Grinning the grin that only a proud older brother could give, Kiba stretched out and leaned back in his chair, "You bet! As soon as he hit his latest growth spurt, the poor thing has been attacked from all sides by dangerous female pups. I'm telling you, those dogs are more dangerous than Ino on a man-mission. He can hardly keep up with them all."

Laughing, Hinata watched him eying her forgotten plate. She pushed it towards him and his eyes lit up. Grabbing another fry, he popped it in his mouth.

Resting his elbow on the table, he propped his chin on his free hand and winked at her. "Now, his older brother, this hot stud named Kiba, well, seems he's got himself a gal, too."

Hinata mimicked his pose and leaned forward, "Oh yeah? Nice guy, that Kiba. Pretty cute, too."

He raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah?"

She moved closer to him and smiled, "Mm-hmm."

Smiling back, he released her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her cheek, "From what I hear, he thinks his girl is the best thing in the world."

A blush tinting her cheeks, Hinata repeated his words, "Oh yeah?"

A soft brush of mouth against mouth and she felt, more than heard, his answer. "Oh yeah."

Their lips met again.

And then again.

A reluctant parting and a lingering last kiss as Kiba's stomach growled a protest.

They laughed and pulled apart to feed his hungry body.

He had just placed another order when a loud clearing of a throat caught both their attentions.

Hinata eyed the newcomer in front of her warily. He wore dark, loose clothing and his long brown hair was pulled loosely into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

"Hinata-sama, I have a message for you from the main house."

Kiba frowned as Hinata's eyes dropped from the man's face and grazed the floor. Her shoulders hunched forward and she seemed to shrink into herself.

This wasn't the Hinata that had just teased with him, this was the Hinata from six years ago who could barely stammer a question.

Kiba supressed the urge to jump the man and beat him senseless. It wasn't his fault, per say, that Hinata grew nervous and withdrawn.

It was the message in his hand.

From the main house.

From her father.

Hinata took the sealed envelope from the man and he left without another word.

Kiba's concern grew as he saw her shaking hands struggle to open it.

Hinata was trembling so hard she couldn't really control her movements. She knew this, and felt ridiculous for falling apart in front of Kiba.

His hands covered hers and helped her in the opening of her message.

She wanted to thank him, wanted to hold him and kiss him, wanted to tell him she loved him with everything she had, every cell in her body.

But she couldn't.

Because all she could think, hear and see, was the summons in her hand.

It was over, she knew.

Her dream, her hope, her love.

She had just woken up.

oooooooooooooooo

She hadn't even seen him, Kiba knew, when she had stumbled away.

Her eyes had been distant and scared and her body cold and shaky.

It made his blood boil and his heart ache.

Because all he could do was wait for her to come to him.

He clenched his fist and stared blindly at the ground in front of him as he walked aimlessly around the town.

And Kiba hated waiting.

oooooooooooooooo

Hinata knelt before her father, knees quaking and palms sweaty.

He sat regally on his chair, looking down at her with such disdain and animosity that she felt it even though her forehead rested against the mat in front of his raised platform.

"You have always disappointed me, Hinata. Do you know that?"

Tears stung her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She couldn't openly oppose him, to do so would mean beatings beyond those that Neji had given her during her first fight with him. But she could keep what little strength she had, what power she had, in refusing to let him know how he hurt her.

She didn't know what to say, or if he expected an answer, so she gave none.

He seemed to accept this as agreement, because he moved on.

"Why you are such a failure, I will never know, but I can only do what I feel is necessary in order to prevent further humiliation upon this clan."

Her fingers clenched but she thought of Kiba and his warm, dark eyes and his gentle hands and his beautiful smile and hoped that he was waiting for her somewhere out beyond this dark place many called home.

She forced herself to listen to her father.

He moved to his feet and walked across the floor to where she knelt on the floor.

He dropped gracefully to his knees and lifted her head with one hand on her chin.

She flinched, expecting a blow.

And though one did not come, he nodded in approval of her fear, glad to have taught something to her, at least.

His voice was dangerously soft but a silken tone belied steel words.

"You will not see him again."

She jerked and raised stunned eyes to his face.

"W-what?"

His eyes narrowed, "You will address me, correctly, Hinata. Know your place."

Her eyes dropped and she wilted, "Forgive me, Hiashi-sama."

"This dog-boy you see. You will stop whatever it is you have with him. You will break all ties with him and never see him again. Do you understand me?"

Hinata had to bite her lip to prevent the words trying to spill out. Never see Kiba again, never see the man who meant everything to her. How?

She shook her head frantically, trying to dislodge his tight grip on her chin. "_Please_," she whispered brokenly, "don't take him away from me. _Please . . ._"

Standing, Hiashi stood over his eldest daughter.

"If you ever see him again, Hinata, I will have him killed. I will crush his bones, tear out his insides, and feed them to his dog. And then I will make you so miserable, you will wish for death, yourself."

Her forehead pressed tightly against the floor, Hinata muffled her sobs against the unfeeling mat beneath her.

Seated once again on his lordly throne, Hiashi waved a hand at her. "Dismissed, Hinata. Do not test me again."

Forcing her legs to move, she stumbled out the door.

_Keep going, keep going. Just make it to your room, Hinata. Make it to your room and then break. But don't shatter here, please don't shatter here. _

Repeating it over and over, Hinata's unseeing eyes failed to notice the young man making his way urgently toward her.

Hyuuga Neji caught his destroyed cousin in his arms as she ran blindly into him. Not looking at the many family members surrounding them, Neji half-dragged, half-carried Hinata to her room.

Shutting the door behind him, Neji wrapped an arm around her and pressed her face into his chest.

Having long since given up his animosity towards her, Neji had grown fond of his quiet cousin. He knew, just knew, that Hiashi had crushed her in that short meeting, knew that he could do only one thing.

After she cried.

After her tears were spent, Neji would find a way to give Hinata one last meeting with Kiba.

Looking down at her trembling form, Neji wondered if he would ever see her smile again.

oooooooooooooooo

Kiba waited anxiously at the training grounds they usually met at, wondering why he hadn't heard from Hinata herself, but from Neji.

Akamaru gave a joyful bark and Kiba whirled around to face the way his trusted companion was sniffing.

Hinata came slowly into view, and Kiba's face fell, wondering at the crushed look on her own face.

She walked up to him and stood facing him, not two feet away. He shifted from foot to foot, wanting to ask why she had been crying, why she hadn't talked to him in over a week, why she didn't say anything. Why she kept staring at him as though it would be the last time.

And then she was in his arms and pressed close against him and he smelled her shampoo and smelled her skin, and felt as though he could smell her very soul as she curled into him.

Hinata wrapped her arms tightly around his torso, pressing her reddened face into the crook of his neck, feeling tears drip from her tightly closed eyes onto his warm skin.

His arms tightened around her, and she knew he smelled her tears and her fear and her sadness.

"Hinata? What's going on, are you-"

She shook her head fiercely against his body and he stopped to smooth a hand down her hair.

Letting out a broken sob, she pulled back and ran trembling hands over his face, tracing his nose and his cheekbones and the jut of his chin.

"I love you," she told him, "I love you so much, so very much. I love you. I love you"

He shushed her with warm fingers against her lips and wiped tears from her face.

Pressing kisses to each tear stain, he murmured, "I love you, too. I love you with everything I have. Tell me what's wrong, love, tell me so I can fix it and make you stop crying."

She shuddered in his grasp, "You can't fix it, Kiba, you can't. No one can."

"Yes, I can. Trust me, Hinata."

She pulled away from him and turned her back to him, wiping at her tears and straightening her shirt. He frowned, but let her go.

She turned back to face him and let out a shivering breath.

"I can't see you anymore, Kiba."

His eyebrows rose and he moved a step towards her. "You can't what?" Confused and hurt, he held out a hand to her.

She didn't take it. "I can't see you anymore. I – I'm not allowed."

He frowned and dropped his empty hand. "Not allowed? But who would – your father?" At her nod, he turned furiously around and slammed his fist into the fence pole behind him viciously.

She flinched but nodded when he turned back around.

His eyes were furious, but it wasn't directed at her, "He can't do this, Hinata! We can fight him! I love you!" He stepped up to her and caught her face in his hands. "I love you so much, and I know you love me, I can feel it. Fight him with me, Hinata."

She shook her head, "I cannot. It's not an option. Kiba. I love you, I do, please know that. But I can't be with you."

He growled and moved back, pacing to contain his helpless fury. "Did he threaten you? Did the bastard threaten to hurt you, Hinata?"

Shaking her head again, she reached out a hand to stop his pacing and made him face her.

"No, Kiba, he didn't threaten to hurt me. He threatened to _kill_ you. And that is something I couldn't bear. If this is the only way to protect you, I'll do it." She pressed herself into his arms and hugged him one last time, her heart weeping at how perfect his arms felt around her.

She lifted her face to press soft kisses against his lips, deepening them when he opened his mouth to her.

She pulled away and looked at him one last time.

And then she turned and walked away.

And Kiba let her. His arms limp at his sides, his heart bleeding at his feet, he watched his love walk away from him.

And when she was out of sight, he dropped to his knees and sobbed.

oooooooooooooooo

Hinata met up with Neji just out of sight of the training grounds.

Her voice was calm when she thanked him.

Her walk was steady as they turned towards the Hyuuga compound.

But her eyes, Neji saw, her eyes were so dead, so barren, that he felt his blood freeze when he met them.

oooooooooooooooo

Hinata knelt on the floor in front of her father, but her forehead no longer pressed against the rough straw mat.

She did not fear him any longer.

He had taken everything from her already, and so he had nothing left to take as punishment.

His face angry at her disrespect, Hiashi had to fight the urge to strike her. He could not do so in front of Neji, who stood protectively by the door, had done so since he had taken the dog-boy from Hinata. He did not fear his stupidly foolish daughter, but Neji he did fear and so he restrained himself.

"You asked for this meeting, Hinata. Are you not going to say anything? Or would you prefer we sit in silence for the rest of the afternoon and you waste more of my precious time?"

Impassive eyes met his hateful glare.

"I want to leave."

He raised an eyebrow at her and took a sip of wine. "Leave where?"

"The Hyuuga compound. The Hyuuga family. The Hyuuga life. I want out."

He snorted a laugh and stood to glare down at her from his impressive height.

"No Hyuuga ever leaves the clan. I forbid it."

Hinata stood to face him and he snarled at her disobedience.

"I thought you would say that. So I have a proposition. You either let me leave freely and with my inheritance, or I go to every neighboring clan, enemy or not, and give them the secrets of the Byakuugan."

He paled and he lashed out with his right fist. Knocking her to the floor, Hiashi stood over her and raised his hand in a Gentle Fist stance.

A flash of white and Neji stood over Hinata's fallen form.

"You touch her, Uncle, and I will rip your precious balls from your body and feed them to you through your nose. I have stood by long enough. Destiny calls to me not to fold power to you, but to change the Hyuuga back into the powerful, _good_ clan it was before you reigned over it."

Hiashi glared, "I will activate your seal, you traitorous bastard and –"

Hinata chuckled weakly from the floor, "I broke it, Father. I destroyed his seal and eradicated it from every other Branch family member. You cannot harm them any longer."

Neji's fist touched his side and Hiashi crumpled in pain.

A loud commotion broke out in the halls and the shouting of voices and thudding of bodies echoed into the council room.

Neji raced to the doors, Hinata following close on his heels.

Flinging open the doors, Neji almost fell over in shock.

The hall was filled with groaning bodies and . . . dogs?

Neji let out a grunt of surprise when a dog came up to him, growling. He dodged another yipping creature, attempting to bite his foot and glanced back at Hinata.

Her eyes were wide and filled with the first emotion he had seen in over a month.

Hope.

"Let me go, you fucking bastards." A thud, a growl, and a groan of pain. " Where did you put her? Where is she, dammit? What have you done to her?"

Hinata gasped and pushed past Neji into the hall.

There she stood, trembling and losing whatever strength she had held onto facing her father.

Kiba broke through another door, frantically looking around and then turning back to the hall. Grabbing another Hyuuga off the floor, he slammed him against the wall.

About to threaten, question, or even beg, Kiba froze and turned his head to look down the hall towards Hinata.

"Hinata?" He dropped the man he had been holding and took a stumbling step towards her.

"K–Kiba? What are you . . . what are you doing here?"

Kiba lifted one shoulder in an awkward shrug and wiped at some of the blood dripping from his cut lip. "I was looking for you."

He started walking towards, afraid to move too fast, lest she be a mere fantasy.

She let out a trembling sob and half stumbled, half walked to meet him halfway down the hall.

He held out his arms and she was in them in a heartbeat, pressing as close as possible, pressing her face tightly against the crook of his neck.

More Hyuuga members rushed forward, but Neji stopped them with one hand raised. "Let them be. They're where they belong."

He moved back into the council room, jerking his uncle to his feet and pushing him towards the door. "Tell them you take it back. Tell them, or you lose limbs, and then eyes, and then heart before I take over the leadership of this clan."

Hyuuga Hiashi stumbled through the door and moved to stand before the couple still embracing.

"I revoke my decision, Hinata. You may see this man with the approval of this clan's head."

Pulling her face from Kiba's neck, Hinata stared at the weak man before her.

"I don't want your _approval_, Hiashi-sama. I don't even want your acknowledgment. I do want to thank you, however, for giving me the courage to finally stand up to you."

She stepped out of Kiba's embrace, but kept one hand firmly threaded through his. "If you hadn't taken him away, if I hadn't _let_ you take him away from me, I would never have been able to do what I've always wanted to do."

She moved to stand before her father and faced him, woman to man, daughter to father, person to person.

"I want out." She repeated. "I want you to release me from this clan and leave me and my true family the hell alone. I want out of your life, and I want you to stay away from mine."

Hiashi glowered over being ordered by some girl, but felt Neji's threatening glare and nodded all the same.

Hinata frowned, "No, I want you to say it."

"Fine, I release you from the Hyuuga family, never to be allowed back in."

She bowed low, "Thank you for the one good thing you've ever done for me."

She moved past him to wrap her once-estranged cousin in her arms. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and hugged him again. "Thank you for everything. Without you, I would not have made it this past month."

Neji smiled, a soft smile, "No, Hinata, thank you." He pressed a hand against his unmarked forehead. "Thank you for setting me free. You truly are a Hyuuga now, Hinata, your inner strength is unrivaled by anyone in this clan."

He touched her shoulder and jerked his chin at the man waiting for her. "Now go home, my true cousin. Go home, my Hyuuga."

Hinata turned back to Kiba and he held out a hand to her.

Together they walked out of the Hyuuga stronghold, followed by a trail of canines.

Kiba stopped her just outside of the gates guarding the Hyuuga homes.

He smiled at her, "I love you."

She nodded, too overcome with emotion to voice her own feelings. She leaned up, pressing her open mouth against his. They kissed, feeling such a rush of emotion that they had never felt so complete.

"What took you so long?" Hinata asked him, teasingly.

Kiba looked affronted and pressed a hand to his chest, "Took me so long? I was planning a one-man siege, Hinata! What took _you_ so long?"

Smiling, loving every part of him, Hinata shrugged her shoulders and they started walking again.

"I guess I just had to find the Hyuuga in me."

Owari.

Whew! I hope you like how I ended it. I love Kiba and Hinata as a pairing and wish more writing was around about them. Anyway, thanks for the reviews from everyone and thanks for reading!


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